IVF births result in taller kids

Children born using in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) are likely to be taller than their naturally conceived counterparts, New Zealand researchers have found.

The study by Auckland University's Liggins Institute found IVF children conceived from fresh, rather than frozen, embryos were about 2.6cm taller than non-IVF children by the age of six. The research, which examined about 200 children, found the height difference was statistically significant, even after adjusting for variables such as the parents' height.

Liggins Institiute director Wayne Cutfield said the phenomenon was most striking in girls. 'At this stage, we don't know what the catalyst for that is,' he told Radio NZ on Thursday. Mr Cutfield said appeared IVF children from fresh embyros had a different hormone profile to regular children, which could promote growth.

This could be caused by the drugs mothers took to induce ovulation during the conception process or by the culture medium the embryos were developed in for 36 hours before being transferred to the womb, he said. Mr Cutfield said another possibility was that medical workers simply picked the largest, most developed embryos because they were most likely to survive the IVF process.

He said the study showed the need for more research into children born through IVF, which has assisted in up to four million births globally over the past 32 years.

'There's been remarkable little research done on IVF children,' he said. 'There's been several studies that have looked at intelligence and cognitive function that haven't shown any differences with IVF. This is the first study that's looked very precisely at growth resultation and metabolism.'

The Chicken Story...

Mirchandani lived on a quiet rural highway. But, as time went by, the traffic slowly built up at an alarming rate. The traffic was so heavy and so fast that his chickens were being run over at a rate of three to six a day.

So one day Mirchandani called the sheriff's office and said, "You've got to do something about all of these people driving so fast and killing all of my chickens."

"What do you want me to do?" asked the sheriff.

"I don't care, just do something about those crazy drivers!"

So the next day he had the county workers go out and erected a sign that said:

SLOW: SCHOOL CROSSING

Three days later Mirchandani called the sheriff and said, "You've got to do something about these drivers. The 'school crossing' sign seems to make them go even faster."

So, again, the sheriff sends out the county workers and they put up a new sign:

SLOW:CHILDREN AT PLAY

That really sped them up. So Mirchandani called and called and called every day for three weeks. Finally, he asked the sheriff, "Your signs are doing no good.. Can I put up my own sign?"

The sheriff told him, "Sure thing, put up your own sign.." He was going to let Mirchandani do just about anything in order to get him to stop calling everyday to complain.

The sheriff got no more calls from Mirchandani. Three weeks later, curiosity got the best of the Sheriff and he decided to give Mirchandani a call.. "How's the problem with those drivers. Did you put up your sign?"

"Oh, I sure did. And! not one chicken has been killed since then. I've got to go. I'm very busy." He hung up the phone.

The sheriff was really curious now and he thought to himself, "I'd better go out there and take a look at that sign...

It might be something that WE could use to slow down drivers..."

So the sheriff drove out to Mirchandani's house, and his jaw dropped the moment he saw the sign. It was spray painted on a sheet of wood....NUDIST COLONY & Go slow and watch out for chicks!

WINNERS DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY!!

Baby Born from 20-Year-Old Frozen Embryo

Earlier this year, a baby boy was born from a 20-year-old frozen embryo, reports the journal Fertility and Sterility; 20 years is the longest ever duration between cryopreservation of an embryo and birth.

The 42-year-old mother of the boy, who is not named in the study, began trying to get pregnant using IVF ten years ago. At the time, she and her husband received embryos from a heterosexual couple who had themselves undergone IVF.

That couple had anonymously donated their leftover embryos after the woman successfully gave birth. Thing was, they did so in 1990 – meaning that the boy just born to the woman in the study has a sibling out there somewhere who was conceived at the same time but is 20 years [older].

The previous record was 13 years.

Ain't it the truth!! Old Sea Story!!

There's an old sea story about a ship's Captain who inspected his sailors, and afterward told the first mate that his men smelled bad.
The Captain suggested perhaps it would help if the sailors would change underwear occasionally.
The first mate responded, "Aye, aye sir, I'll see to it immediately!"
The first mate went straight to the sailors berth deck and announced, "The Captain thinks you guys smell bad and wants you to change your underwear." He continued, "Pittman, you change with Jones, McCarthy, you change with Witkowski, and Brown, you change with Schultz."

THE MORAL OF THE STORY:
Someone may come along and promise "Change", but don't count on things smelling any better.

'A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have...'
-Thomas Jefferson

'Hungry' embryos linked to IVF success

Australian scientists have found a unique way to determine which embryos stand the best chance of producing a successful IVF pregnancy.

The technique also points to a simple way of determining the gender of a fertilised human egg when it is just days, and only several dozen cell divisions, old.

It relies on taking exact measurements of the nutrients left over in the solution in which embryos are grown before being transferred to a woman's uterus.

"IVF units use this solution, or media as it is known, to provide a bed of nutrients for embryos fertilised in the laboratory from the eggs and sperm of couples who cannot naturally conceive," said Professor David Gardner, head of the Department of Zoology at the University of Melbourne.

"The glucose in embryo solution closely matches that which occurs naturally in the uterus."

Professor Gardner said fertility specialists knew the precise amount of glucose in the solution before an embryo was inserted.

By checking the level of glucose left over on day four or five, and just before implantation, they could see exactly how much of the nutrient load had been consumed by the growing embryo.

"There is clear-cut evidence that the greater the glucose intake, the healthier the embryo," Professor Gardner said.

"By measuring the glucose consumption of an embryo, we can better determine which is the healthiest embryo for transfer back to the patient."

Professor Gardner and his fellow researchers tracked 50 women who were undergoing IVF treatment, starting with an analysis of the media that contained their embryos.

Not all of the women fell pregnant, but of the 28 babies that were born, they were found to be the same "embryos which had the highest glucose uptake" to begin with.

Professor Gardner said another potentially exciting aspect of the research was that female embryos appeared to take up more glucose than male embryos.

"This is a very early observation, but it may have the potential to help identify gender at early embryo stage," he said.

The research will be presented at The Fertility Society of Australia's annual scientific meeting, to be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

Dude Builds the World’s Slowest Porsche

Making use of ULC (ultra light construction) an Austrian car enthusiast managed to build the lightest and slowest Porsche in the world. The Ferdinand GT3 RS may look a lot like a Porsche roadster, but as we all know, appearances can often be deceiving. I’m not even sure we can call this thing a car, considering it doesn’t even have an engine, but it’s definitely an interesting concept. The Ferdinand GT3 RS weighs an astounding 99.63 kilograms, which is lighter than any other working car, but that means all the “unnecessary” components were left out. The body of thishome-made sports car is made of plastic tubes, and the wheels are so slim they wouldn’t even fit on a bicycle.

The golden finish of the Ferdinand GT3 RS may look impressive, but you’ll be surprised to know it’s just gold-painted duct tape, covering the plastic tube frame of the car. Since it doesn’t even have an engine, you’re probably wondering how it works. As you can see in the video at the bottom, this DIY vehicle is powered by…(wait for it)…pedals. Just like on a bike, you’ll have to make good use of your legs, to get from A to B.

You can see a lot more photos of the building process of the Ferdinand GT3 RS, on its Flickr stream, but we’ve posted enough photos to give you a good idea of how it was made. The world’s slowest Porsche is now on display at the Lentos Museum of Art, in Linz, Austria.

First babies due for new IVF system

Three British women are due to give birth before Christmas after helping to pioneer a new IVF technique described as the ultimate screening test

Three British women in their late 30s are due to give birth before Christmas after helping to pioneer a new IVF technique described as the “ultimate screening test”.

Theirs are the first successful pregnancies in Europe to be achieved as a result of the procedure, which looks for abnormalities in cells taken from tiny five-day-old embryos.

Blastocyst Chromosome Screening (BCS) can spot chromosomal mistakes in outwardly normal-looking embryos that may prevent pregnancies or lead to miscarriages.

Evidence from the United States suggests the procedure can boost the chances of a viable pregnancy after In-Vitro Fertilisation from around 35% to 75%.

The women are taking part in a year-long trial conducted by fertility specialist CARE at its Manchester clinic.

All three are aged between 37 and 40 and have a history of failed IVF.

BCS involves extracting up to 10 cells from a specific part of the blastocyst, a micro-sized embryo no larger than a pinhead, using state-of-the-art technology.

The cells are then analysed to check all their chromosomes – the cell structures that package DNA – for major abnormalities.

Only embryos that pass the test are implanted into a patient’s womb.

A unique feature of the process is that it can tell whether the mother or father has passed on an abnormality.